Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
💧 H2O INTRO 👤 Meet Jackie McCloud, former Environmental Sustainability Division Manager for the City of Watsonville, California
For some families, the biggest barrier to safe drinking water isn't contamination. It's affordability.
Jackie McCloud worked to better understand and address water affordability in Watsonville, where low-income households continue to struggle to pay for an essential service despite California recognizing the human right to water.
In one recent year, 6% of Watsonville residents had their water shut off because they could not afford their water bills.
McCloud says many of the affordability models utilities rely on fail to capture what is actually happening in vulnerable communities because they depend heavily on broad measures like median household income rather than household-level realities.
Her call to action is for utilities, researchers, and water professionals to collaborate on developing better metrics that identify where affordability challenges truly exist—helping ensure safe, reliable water service reaches the people who need it most.
H2O INTRO is sponsored by Human Capital Solutions, Inc., an executive search, recruiting, and leadership advisory firm. Visit humancs.com
VIDEO CHAPTERS
0:00 Water Affordability in Watsonville
0:18 Why Current Metrics Miss the Problem
0:38 Building Better Measures of Affordability
waterloop is a nonprofit news outlet exploring solutions for water sustainability. Visit waterloop.org
Subscribe to catch every video: youtube.com/@waterloop
Never miss an episode! Subscribe to waterloop:
🎧 Spotify:bit.ly/waterloopSpotify
🎧 Apple Podcasts:bit.ly/waterloopApple
🎧 YouTube Podcasts:bit.ly/waterloopYouTubePod
Follow waterloop for more stories on water sustainability:
🔹 Instagram:instagram.com/the_waterloop
🔹 LinkedIn:linkedin.com/company/thewaterloop
💧 H2O INTRO 👤 Meet Jackie McCloud, former Environmental Sustainability Division Manager for the City of Watsonville, California
For some families, the biggest barrier to safe drinking water isn't contamination. It's affordability.
Jackie McCloud worked to better understand and address water affordability in Watsonville, where low-income households continue to struggle to pay for an essential service despite California recognizing the human right to water.
In one recent year, 6% of Watsonville residents had their water shut off because they could not afford their water bills.
McCloud says many of the affordability models utilities rely on fail to capture what is actually happening in vulnerable communities because they depend heavily on broad measures like median household income rather than household-level realities.
Her call to action is for utilities, researchers, and water professionals to collaborate on developing better metrics that identify where affordability challenges truly exist—helping ensure safe, reliable water service reaches the people who need it most.
H2O INTRO is sponsored by Human Capital Solutions, Inc., an executive search, recruiting, and leadership advisory firm. Visit humancs.com
VIDEO CHAPTERS
0:00 Water Affordability in Watsonville
0:18 Why Current Metrics Miss the Problem
0:38 Building Better Measures of Affordability
waterloop is a nonprofit news outlet exploring solutions for water sustainability. Visit waterloop.org
Subscribe to catch every video: youtube.com/@waterloop
Never miss an episode! Subscribe to waterloop:
🎧 Spotify:bit.ly/waterloopSpotify
🎧 Apple Podcasts:bit.ly/waterloopApple
🎧 YouTube Podcasts:bit.ly/waterloopYouTubePod
Follow waterloop for more stories on water sustainability:
🔹 Instagram:instagram.com/the_waterloop
🔹 LinkedIn:linkedin.com/company/thewaterloop
